Re: Oracle Licensing

Oracle has been riding the concept of "we're oracle so you want to use our database" for a long while. I'll be one of the last to condone sql-server(as i've recently had to work with it for a client, and i talked up oracle for a while) but Mr Larry is losing market share, check out any of the financial stories about ORCL.

The problem with M$ sql-server is its just not as scalable as oracle(yet). Think about it with the power unit concept its becoming too damn expensive except for the high-roller fortune 250 companies. I need a playgound to test new options, etc, if the whole technet thing did not exist, i'd never pay the price for the database just to experiment.

my .02 is the whole power unit thing is a good concept but the $$ per unit is way outta whack. the only reason i say that is its been hard for oracle to denote when people were using more than the licenses they bought were being used. I had always setup the databases with the v$license parms setup in the database. But sometimes damagement "required" me to "uplift" the limits. We'll leave it at that.

joe
Tom Schruefer wrote:
>
> As luck would have it I was evaluating the prices of Oracle and then SQL
> Server today.
>
> My question at this point is, what kind of prices does Microsoft charge
> for support, I was pretending to purchase SQL Server and noticed that no
> mention is made about product support.
>
> Using the "Power Unit" method MS and Oracle come out within about $5k of
> each other, but when you get to their Enterprise editions, MS is just
> under $20k where as Oracle is way out there. The cheaoest I could get
> Oracle, with unlimited users (which is what I need). On a 1ghz Intel,
> single processor machine with a 2 yr lic, Oracle Enterprise costs $45,600
> (thats if you want support with your DB).
>
> If it were my money $20k vs. $45k+, hummm.
>
> I'm no Friend-of-Bill, but one has to wonder how Oracle can compete with
> such a huge price difference. Is MS doing to Oracle what it did to
> Netscape and dozens of other companies?
>
> Tom
>
> >Martin Kendall - Martin.Kendall_at_Rubus.com on 3/5/2001 4:45 PM writes us:
>
> >I'm following this thread and a worrying thought has crossed my mind:-
> >
> >If Oracle carries on with this pricing model, soon we will all be looking
> >for a new job......scary :-)
> >
> >Martin Kendall
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >Sent: 02 March 2001 22:00
> >To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L
> >
> >
> >Last time I danced with our sales rep, power units were per server, not per
> >user... so the power unit price would be 400*100 = 40,000 for an unlimited
> >(Ha!
> >at 200mhz?) number of users. If you ask nicely, yours may agree to convert
> >any
> >concurrent or named user licenses you have into power unit credits.
> >
> >Dennis Taylor wrote:
> >
> >> At 06:25 AM 3/2/01 -0800, you wrote:
> >> >the mire. At any rate, there are suppose to be two basic licensing
> >> schemes, and
> >> >GOD only knows how many "allowed" permutations:
> >> >
> >> > 1) Power Units which equates to the number of processors times the
> >> speed of
> >> >the processors in Megahertz. Oh, BTW: it matters if their Intel or Risc
> >> >processors too. Risc processors are more expensive. In general this is
> >the
> >> >MOST expensive way to go.
> >> >
> >>
> >> I went to the oracle site and did some calcs for adding users to Oracle
> >> Enterprise. Kept sayin g to myself, "Naw, they must mean *hundreds* of
> >> megahertz....". Anyway, for a very behind-the-curve system (2x200mhz
> >> ppro's), it works out to $4000 per additional user.
> >>
> >> Or I can look at Interbase/Firebird, which is free.
> >>
> >> Today I will be assigning one of my staff the task of downloading,
> >> installing, and evaluating Firebird.
> >>
> >> The only way I can imagine that Oracle thinking can be going is: "Hey,
> >> revenues are dropping because of competition from free and less expensive
> >> dbms's". "No problem. Raise prices to make up the shortfall". Then I say
> >to
> >> myself, "Naw, no-one can be that stupid". Then I check the per-user prices
> >> again....
> >>
> >> Dennis Taylor
> >> --------------------------------
> >> Good we must love, and must hate ill,
> >> For ill is ill, and good good still.
> >>
> >> --
> >> Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com
> >> --
> >> Author: Dennis Taylor
> >> INET: ismgr_at_pctc.com

-- 
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-- 
Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com
-- 
Author: Joseph S. Testa
  INET: teci_at_oracle-dba.com

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